Fossils

The objectives of this review of the new, exciting 12-DVD series, Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis, by the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) are to:

Dr. Dan Reynolds attended the recent Creation Superconference held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina July 13-17. Dr. Reynolds has provided us a summary of each of the sessions at the conference.

Figure 1

How many of us have heard that evolution is supported by the evidence of the fossil record or that millions of fossils prove evolution had to have occurred? It has been assumed that as more research accumulated and more fossils were discovered, there would be increasing evidence to support the thesis of Darwin that evolution of species has occurred. In fact, it now seems to be popular to think that this has indeed occurred, and that new fossil evidence - including evidence of whale evolution, etc. - now has lent increased support to the theory of evolution. We will look at the results of the research in the years following Darwin. We will also examine claims or statements from scientists, including evolutionists, about this fossil evidence. Let’s look at this and see what the actual fossil evidence tells us!

I was recently invited to give a talk on intelligent design to a college philosophy class on Darwin, Marx, and Freud. I have known the professor for a number of years and had presented to his classes before. He usually has had me come in and present the case for intelligent design (ID) at the start of the section on Darwinism. The professor is an atheist but interested in discussing various views. I can only imagine what he has to say about my presentations afterwards; no doubt he tries to counter my arguments. Since I only had one chance to speak to these students, I wanted to present them with what I considered to be the best evidences for theism. This article is based on that talk. The discussion here will be brief and in everyday language.

As many Christians interested in the science of creation know, Dr. Mary Schweitzer is the paleontologist who published a 2005 article in Science magazine, “Soft-tissue vessels and cellular preservation in Tyrannosaurus rex,“ 1

From time to time we find it beneficial to invite our members and guests of TASC to a question and answer panel on creation versus evolution. We believe it will help your faith and your ability to “give an answer for your faith.” We did this at our recent August, 2016, meeting. Several of our TASC board members participated including Mark Stephens, MCS, moderator of the panel, and panel members, Joe Spears, MS; Gerald Van Dyke, Ph.D.; Jeff Gift, Ph.D.; and Dan Reynolds, Ph.D., who was out of town but graciously submitted written answers to questions for all our benefit.

Organic matter in the fossil record generally dates by carbon 14 (C14) dating to about 20,000 to 40,000 years. Other radioactive dating methods such as potassium/argon (K/Ar), rubidium/strontium (Rb/Sr), uranium/lead (U/Pb), thorium/lead (Th/Pb) and others that are based on decay of longer-lived isotopes often give ages in the millions or hundreds of millions of years for these fossils. Why is this? Why are the dates so different?

Many creationists believe that radioactive decay was faster in the past. However, in this talk I want to concentrate on reasons to believe the C14 dates are more accurate and that they give evidence that all life on earth is very young. If decay rates were faster in the past, then even the C14 dates could be too old.

I once heard a radio show host ask a caller, if it could be proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Bible wasn't true and that Jesus wasn't who he claimed he was, if the caller would be willing to accept that information. I remember thinking that I would like to ask the host the same question, turned around, if it could be proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Jesus really was who he claimed to be, would you accept that? Are we willing to believe the evidence? Or do we resist truth or new ideas because of preconceived notions, traditions, or dogma? I see no problem with evidence and the truth. It certainly beats lies.

Recently I was asked to give a talk on resources available on creation. I expanded the topic to include best evidences for creation. This article is based on that talk. For resources, I will discuss some of the major websites and organizations. Many of these will probably be familiar to you if you have been interested in creation science for a while. For best evidences, I will discuss scripture, the origin of the universe, the origin of life, the origin of species, empirical detection of intelligent causes, and the age of the earth.

In the August, 2004, TASC newsletter, I shared with you some of the scientific research and meteorological observations from Michael J. Oard, who concluded that the Ice Age could have been caused by the Genesis or Noahic Flood recorded in the Bible. 1 That article addressed primarily the build-up of snow and ice and the resulting glaciation of the Ice Age that Oard calculates took place over a span of 500 years after the worldwide Genesis Flood, which is also calculated by his scientific methods to have occurred about 4,200 years ago. 2 This article will address the deglaciation or "meltdown" of the Ice Age that took about 200 years according to calculations based on Oard's research. 3 ^,4  Consequently, the total time for a post-Flood ice age is only about 700 years. 5  This contrasts to the uniformitarian theory of naturalistic evolution from as few as four to more than twenty ice ages covering tens to hundreds of thousands to millions of years. 6  For more in-depth study and understanding you may wish to order a copy of Oard's book titled, An Ice Age Caused by the Genesis Flood, by calling the Institute for Creation Research at 800-628-7640 or coming out to our monthly TASC meetings and purchase a copy. A less technical book for children and adults by Michael Oard and his wife, Beverly Oard, titled Life in the Great Ice Age can be obtained by the same methods.

• 1Oard, Michael J. (1990) An Ice Age Caused by the Genesis Flood, Institute for Creation Research, El Cahon, CA
• 2Oard, Michael J. (1990) 192
• 3Oard, Michael J. (1990)
• 4Oard, Michael J. and Oard, Beverly (1993) Life in the Great Ice Age, Master Books, Green Forest, AK
• 5Oard, Michael J. (1990) 191
• 6The World Book Encyclopedia (1998) World Book, Inc., Chicago, IL, 10: 6-8.